This exceptionally clean 1914 commercial advertising cover captures a beautiful snapshot of rural Pacific Northwest commerce and local postal operations in Wasco and Washington counties.

1. Postal Markings & Operational Analysis

The Format: A standard, commercially printed advertising envelope utilizing an adhesive postage stamp.

The Postage Stamp: Affixed in the upper right is a 2-Cent carmine George Washington stamp from the long-running Washington-Franklin Issues (likely Scott #406 or #425, depending on perforation details).

Postal Rates & Law: Under the domestic postal rates of the era, 2 cents paid the standard first-class letter rate for a domestic piece weighing up to one ounce.

The Postmark: Struck beautifully in black ink is a crisp, complete four-bar circular date stamp (CDS) reading DUFUR / JAN / 29 / 1914 / OREGON. The target killer bars cleanly cancel the Washington stamp without obscuring the central portrait.

The Destination Address: Written in a sharp, bold, elegant fountain pen hand:

A W Paut

Reedville

Oregon

2. Corner Card Advertising & Town History

The left side of the cover features an immaculate, professionally typeset corner card advertisement that places this cover squarely in the agricultural boom era of north-central Oregon:

Hinman, Knowles & Co.

DISTRIBUTORS OF

GENERAL MERCHANDISE AND FARMING MACHINERY.

Dufur - - - Oregon

Dufur, Oregon (Wasco County)

Situated in the heart of Wasco County's wheat country, Dufur was incorporated in 1893. By 1914, the year this letter was mailed, the town was a bustling agricultural hub served by the Great Southern Railroad, which transported immense harvests of grain and apples out of the valley. Firms like Hinman, Knowles & Co. were the lifelines of the community, supplying local homesteaders with everything from dry goods to heavy steam tractors and threshing machinery.

The Destination: Reedville, Oregon (Washington County)

The letter was sent across the state to Reedville, an unincorporated community nestled in Washington County between Hillsboro and Aloha. Named after Simeon Gannett Reed—the vice president of the powerful Oregon Steam Navigation Company and ultimate benefactor of Portland's Reed College—Reedville was an important agricultural and rail stop on the Oregon Electric Railway. The local post office operated there from 1877 until its discontinuation in 1954, making this 1914 strike an excellent artifact of Washington County postal history.